Posts Tagged ‘Law & Order’

John Oliver on TV’s Law & Order

September 15, 2022

TV producer Dick Wolf created the Law & Order franchise in 1990 and, after more than 1,200 episodes, the show is still on the air today. The show’s depiction of the legal process is incredibly inaccurate, explains John Oliver. Just think: on Law & Order, the perpetrator is arrested in every case, and always gets a jury trial. Reality is very different. NYPD closes under a third of all cases (some say 5 percent), and 97 percent of all cases end with plea bargains, not jury trials.

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Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-Bed

Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

 

Felony Failure to Return VHS Rental Tape

April 28, 2021

Felony Failure to Return VHS Rental Tape

“It was an honest mistake from a bygone era, but neglecting to return a Sabrina the Teenage Witch VHS tape rented 22 years ago earned an Oklahoma woman a criminal record for felony embezzlement.

Caron McBride, 52, discovered the charges earlier this month after she got married and applied for a driver’s license under her new last name in Texas.

She was told to call the Cleveland county district attorney’s office in Oklahoma, which told her there was a warrant for her arrest for failing to return the video of the children’s show that records indicate she rented in 1999.

‘I have never watched that show in my entire life, just not my cup of tea,’ McBride told Fox25. ‘Meanwhile, I’m a wanted felon for a VHS tape.’”

— “Unreturned Sabrina the Teenage Witch VHS leads to US woman’s arrest warrant,” Richard Luscombe, The Guardian

More: 

“Overdue VHS Tape From 1999 Leads to Warrant for Embezzlement,” Neil Vigdor, New York Times

“She never returned a VHS copy of ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch,’ DA’s office said. 20 years later, she faced a felony.” Jaclyn Peiser, Washington Post

“Overdue Sabrina the Teenage Witch VHS Rental Leads to Felony Charge 21 Years Later,” Brian Cronin, CBR

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Short link: https://wp.me/p6sb6-x36

Image by Mike Licht (who knows the shop in question wasn’t a Blockbuster). Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

 Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.

Law and Order: Adjourned

May 14, 2010

Law and Order: Adjourned

After two decades, NBC cancelled the TV series “Law & Order.” The death sentence was pronounced by Judge Nielsen; the show’s demise was attributed to low ratings. The series is survived by its spin-offs, “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” “Law & Order: Overtime Parking Squad” and the infant “Law & Order: Los Angeles.” The original program will no doubt live on in syndication and the hearts of fans.

Best quote:

“Law & Order must have been canceled because there are no print publications left from which to rip headlines. –@pourmecoffee via FishbowlDC.

 More postmortems:

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